Sheet metal tool chest



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. VANDERMAN. SHEET METAL TOOL CHEST.

No. 586,297. Patented July 13, 1897.

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' W. VANDBRMAN.

SHEET METAL T OOL CHEST.

No. 586,297. Patented Ju1y`13,1897.

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IVILLIAM VANDERMAN, OF WILLIMANTIC, CONNECTICUT.

SHEET-M ETAL TOOL-CHEST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 586,297, dated July 13,1897.

Application led May 21, 1896. Serial No. 592,396. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM VANDERMAN, a

' citizen of the United States, residing at l/Villimantic, in the countyof Windham and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Sheet-Metal Tool-Ghests, of which the followingis a speciication.

My invention relates to improvements in sheet-metal tool-chests; and themain object of my improvements is to provide a very strong and durablechest at a small cost.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of mychest. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same on the line :n x ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the blank for one end of thechest-body. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank for the cover. Fig. 5 isa transverse section at one end of the chest in a plane passing throughthe axis of the cor ner-iron bolt, said bolt being shown in elevation.Fig. 6 is a plan view of one corner of the chest-body; and Fig. 7 is acentral vertical section of the hasp-keeper, the staple being inelevation.

The box-like cover A and body B are in the main formed of flexible sheetmetal. The blanks for forming these parts may vary somewhat, accordingto the skill or judgment of the maker, but in order to disclose one wayof making the trunk I will describe the preferred construction for saidblanks. I make the front and rear sides of the body and the bottom of asingle sheet of metal of a plain rectangular and wingless form, the samebeing bent longitudinally of the trunk at the lower corners, as at c inFig. 2. The blank ior the end is shown in Fig. 3, and it is notched atits lower corners, as at 8, to form one wingless top edge and threewinged edges, so that the wings 9 9 on each vertical edge and the wing10 at the bottom may be turned over and riveted to the wingless sides 11and wingless bottom 12 ot' the body, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. Theblank for the cover is shown separately in Fig. 4, and it is notched ateach corner to form the ianges 13, which are bent down to form the sidesof the cover.

The rectangular body and cover being for a tool-chest, must be ofconsiderable size, thus making the flexible metal comparatively thin. Ialso leave the raw or out edge of the metal at the bottom of the coverand top of the body. The chest or trunk has right-angular corners at itssides and ends, so as to show a proper rectangle in plan, side, and endviews. These parts thus formed of thin metal have no stiffening orbracing shape, like rounded corners, to assist in maintaining the properform, but have a tendency to buckle, and of themselves cannot be broughtinto a, proper rectangular form for a tool-chest. At the same time themetal has sufficient body togive the chest ample strength provided themetal is properly held in shape. I tinish the raw edges of the body andcover, bring the metalinto its proper final form, and hold it againstbuckling by means of Wooden braces or stay-strips, and I bind the endsof the stay-strips with irons.

Upon the outside of the flange 13 of the cover I secure the'Woodenstay-strips 14, the same being riveted to the ianges 13 With the edge ofthe strip about flush with the edge of the metal in the iiange, wherebyI not only give the edge a neat iinish but remove all buckling from themetal and give the cover a symmetrical form. At the front and rearcorners of the cover I secure, by means of suitable rivets, the threeflanged corner-irons 16, one ange of which iron covers a portion of thetop of each corner of the cover, While the other two flanges cover aportion of the stay-strips at the front and side edges of the cover. Thevertical corners of these cornerirons are provided with aslightly-projecting boss 12, which is or may be perforated for thereception of the fastening-bolts 17. The rear corner-irons are not shownas thus perforated, but they may be so perforated if de-A sired. Acrossthe top of the cover I also place stay-strips 18, which are securelyriveted, as shown.

The top edge of the chest-body I shape and finish in like manner bymeans of the outwardly-projecting stay-strips 19, and I secure likestrips 19 to the middle and lower part of said body, as shown. The topcorners of the body I provide with special corner-irons 21, havingvertical iianges with a screw-hole boss 22 at the junction of saidanges, the hole in said boss being threaded to receive the threaded endof the fasteningbolt 17. The top stay-strips on the body and thestay-strips on the cover may be left short enough to form IOO a space attheir adjacent ends to accommodate the corner-iron bosses and thefasteningbolt, as best shown in plan view, Fig. 6. Plain an gle-irons20, covering the meeting ends of the lower stay-strips on the chestbody,are iirinly secured thereon by rivets. lVhile my corner-irons andfastening-bolts are designed for this sheet-iron chest, it is evidentthat they could, Without modification, be applied to other trunks orchests.

vOn the top stay-strip at the back side of the chest-body I secure thehinges 23, Fig. 2, of which I prefer to use three, and on the outer faceof said stay-strip and over these hinges I secure the top stay-strip 24,of wood, and firmly-secure the same in place by means of bolts orrivets, which should pass through both strips and the hinges, as shownby the bolt 25, Fig. 2. The upper edge of this staystrip is about levelwith the axis of the hinges, so that it forms the stop or stay for thecover for holding it in its elevated position when turned back. Thebottom of the body is also provided with stay-strips 2G, as shown inFig. 2. I line each end of the trunkbody with a thin board 27, which maybe secured by as many rivets as may be desired. A cleat 2S may besecured to said board lining by means of screws for any ordinary till 29to slide on. Other cleats may also be secured in like manner for holdingsuch other interior compartments as may be desired. The chest may beprovided with any suitable trimmings-as, for example, thelifting-handles 30 and hasp 31.

The keeper for the hasp is of Aa peculiar construction. The hasp extendsdownwardly in a straight line over the front face of the top stay-strips19 and below the lower edge thereof. The keeper consists of a hollowbase-plate 32 and staple 33. The base-plate is of the same thickness asthe stay-strip 19, and the ends of the staple are riveted in the bosses34 on the inside of the base-plate, the riveted or headed ends of thestaple being about flush with the rear edge or face of the base-plate.This base-plate is placed on the front face of the metal forming thechest-body just under the top stay-strip and riveted to said body, asshown in Fig. 1. This brings its front face flush with the front face ofthe top stay-strip, while the rear en ds of the staple are backed orguarded by the metal in the chest-body, so that the staple cannot bepushed back through the base-plate, thereby making a cheap and durablekeeper specially adapted for a chest with a metal body and woodenstay-strip at the top edge, as shown.

By my improvements I am enabled to produce a rectangular trunk ortool-chest mainly from sheet metal and of metal that is thin enough tomake a large-sized chest practicable. I make a very strong chest at asmall cost. Although the metal of itself would buckle and not retain itsproper shape, I avoid buckling and hold the chest-body and cover in asymmetrical rectangular form by means of wooden stay-strips, which alsogive a proper finish to the meeting edges of the cover and body. Iprotect the ends of the braces and secure them in placeby suitable ironsand rivets, both ends of the rivets being secured inimetal. Thestay-strips are backed on their inner face by the metal of thechest-body or cover and covered on their outer face at their ends withthe metal of the corner and angle irons. By the employment of thecorner-irons and fastening-bolts I am enabled to secure the cover to thebody at either the two front or all four corners very securely. Thechest is very durable and particularly adapted for carrying heavy tools,as, for example the tools of a plumber or steam-fitter. No matterhowroughly it may be used, there is no liability of accidental unfasteningor displacement of the cover.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the chest-body, the rearwooden stay-strip 19 extending along the back side of said body at itsupper edge, the hinges with one leaf secured upon the outer surface ofsaid stay-strip, the outer stop staystrip 24s secured upon the outerside of said hinges and stay-strip 19 with its upper edge in about thesame plane as the axis of said hinges, the cover and the rear stay-strip14 extending along the lower edge of its back side, the outer leaf ofsaidihinges being secured to the outer side of said brace 14,substantially as described and for the purpose specilied. j

2. A tool-chest consisting of body and cover with the cover corner-irons16 at the upper front corners-of the cover two flanges of said ironscovering a portion of the front and end surface of said cover while thethird flange covers a portion of the top of said cover and is perforatedto receive the fastening-bolt, the body corner-irons 21 covering aportion of the front and end surfaces of said-body and having thescrew-hole boss, and the fasteningbolts for extending through thecorner-irons 16 into the screw-h ole boss of the corner-irons 21 at thecorners of the said cover and body, substantially as described and forthe purpose specified.

3. A trunk or chest body having at its upper front cornersoutwardly-projecting cleats forming a space at their adjacent ends, andcorner-irons 21 each consisting of the two right-angular verticalsurface flanges, one of which extends along over a portion of the frontsurface of one of said cleats and the other of which extends over theface of the other cleat, said flanges having at their junction theexteriorly-rounded and interiorlythreaded screw-hole boss 22 projectinginto said space and beyond the outer face of said flanges, the verticalaxis of said screw-hole boss being substantially in the planes of theinner faces of both of said flanges, substantially as described.

4. A trunk or chest body having right-angular corners throughout, thecover being u formed from a notched and flanged sheetinetal blank andthe body ofwhich is formed of a plain rectangular blank and winged endpieces of sheet metal With the Wings of the end pieces riveted to saidbody, the confronting raw edges of the said cover and body beingprovided with Wooden stay-strips firmly secured by rivets upon theoutside of said @over and body with the edges of the metal andstay-strips substantially even as set forth.

5. A trunk or chest body formed mainly of sheet metal, Ithe Woodenstay-strips secured to the outside of the inetal of said body at its'upper edge, and the keeper consisting of the

